It’s been a long time since I published here. In my defence, I was trying to make candy floss and caps for Santa 🙂

I also managed to find some lovely raw materials and supplies for hand block printed linen fabric. So, now you can order the block printed linen fabric by meter from DesiCrafts!

Read on to see what I got for you…

Prints:

With help of a young hand block printer from Chennai (who is an expert in his work), DesiCrafts was able to produce the prints locally and in lesser time now!!!

Have a look at the prints that we are offering at our website now:

This is Tree Of Life pattern fabric, 100% linen, it is great that the fabric comes in extra wide measurements like 58″-60″.

It requires a little extra work too because all our printing tables are made for standard width that is 44″-45″. But we manage to print by setting up the remaining width again on the table. Of course, it takes time but the outcome is fabulous as always!

Over the year, we introduced about 20 new patterns and colors to our ‘Made To Order’ fabrics range. We started with Indigo (our favourite color) and expanded to some crazy color combinations, representing the bright Indian side of fabrics.

We are accepting custom block printing orders through our Etsy shop and the website.

To order, please contact us. We’d like to let you know that DesiCrafts is now well equipped to produce hand block printed fabrics in your choice of colors and patterns. And we do it from the scratch…

How it works:

Send us your patterns in PDF or JPEG format. We’ll make prototype wooden stamps for you. Meanwhile you share the color palette (preferably a swatch or an image). And our team of 6 printers, a 3500 square feet printing space and 7 printing tables which are 10 meters long each, will be at your service.

What comes to your mind when somebody talks about Aztec? To me, Aztec is a world full of colors and beautiful patterns. But in reality, it is more than just colors and patterns. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Aztec, Nahuatl-speaking people who in the 15th and early 16th centuries ruled a large empire in what is now central and southern Mexico. The Aztec are so called from Aztlán (“White Land”), an allusion to their origins, probably in northern Mexico.”

Wikipedia suggests that from 13th to 16th century Aztec Civilization bloomed in central Mexico. Aztec patterns are mostly geometrical, with lot of detail and use of triangle and sphere. DesiCrafts brings to you a collection of Aztec pattern ribbons, laces and fabrics, so browse on…

Like this:

It’s official now, Marsala is the Pantone color of the year 2015 and so it is talk of the fashion town lately. While fashion and Interior designers are busy in creating new range of fashion, beauty and luxury products, fashionistas have started started planning in advance so as to what they will buy for home, kids and for themselves when their favourite products finally hit the market. Fashion and beauty blogs are on fire and getting loads of attention for this hot Sicilian color, named after a wine.

Like this:

Solene Bucci is a ceramicist from France – the motherland to some great artists in the world. She owns a shop ‘Solene Bucci Ceramics’ in Miers town where she designs beautiful pottery with her partner at their workshop.

Solene takes her inspiration from the mother nature which is clearly reflected in her work. The ceramic pottery made by Solene has details of textile prints, her creations are truly inspired by vegetables and fruits in terms of color and texture.

When I saw her workshop, I could feel the smell of french earth in those pictures. The workshop is spread across a wide open area with airy rooms of french style.

Solene’s pottery is inspired by fabric patterns, flowers and leaves

Solene and her partner Benjamin Tailland, who is also a potter by profession, make beautiful pottery using sandstone. While Benjamin’s work is focused on pottery; Solene enjoys creating lovely jewelry and items of daily use along with making beautiful pottery.

Did you know, apart from being used in making nice beverages, Tea leaves can be used as an organic dye for textiles, mainly for silks.

I didn’t know until I explored the amazing art of textile dying using tea. A complicated dying process makes a unique and precious tea silk fabric. Fashion designer Kathrin von Rechenberg is making her mark in a male dominated industry through producing finest quality hand dyed tea silk. While much of Chinese fashion world is obsessing about big brands such as Gucci, Louise Vuitton and Chanel, Kathrin von Rechenberg has embraced an ancient art of tea silk dyeing to produce trendy fashionable wear.

Munich born Kathrin traveled to China in search of a very special fabric called tea silk which became her signature fabric when she founded her own designer label. Since then, tea silk has been the identity of The Rechenberg Couture.

The Dyeing Process:
Kathrin’s store follows a long process of dyeing the fabric and hence her label produces very best kind of dresses for women.

The regular procedure adopted by many silk dyeing units and production houses is as follows:

Tea silk dyeing starts with procuring right kind of neutral color silk, that has no mixing. It is very important for the dyeing process that the silk is one hundred percent pure. Any mixing of synthetic yarn can bring a lot of color difference. The fabric is sent to the dyeing center where it is hand dyed using tea leaves and twigs. Depending on the requirement, the fabric is repeatedly dipped into yam root dye solution.

After dyeing, the fabric is then left under the sun, in a grass field. The grass keeps it from touching the hot earth directly. The drying process is repeated as many as 20-30 times. The sun gives dyed fabric a nice and permanent color. The process may take longer time depending on the weather.

The fabric is then soaked in red mud extracted from the river. After this fabric is dried again. The fabric is washed thoroughly after drying. Washed fabric is again dried and now it looks dark on one side and rusty red on another side.

Like this:

Sari is an integral part of Indian culture. Over the time, sari has taken many forms and adorned by women around the world, this six yards piece of fabric is now making its presence felt in the global fashion industry.
Sari is usually worn with a blouse or a top. But what would you say about those creative designers who thought it would be a good idea to make dresses for modern women using sari?

Up-cycled jewelry made using a sari, ribbons, cushion covers, curtains and bedsheets is what we all have tried at some point of time in our lives. But have a look at this gorgeous Sari dress contributed by pinner E Shelton on her Pinterest board, it looks very modern and I would be surprised if a fashion lover wouldn’t want to wear it to her next cocktail party. But wait, I am sorry to tell you that you can’t have it. Why? Well… because this sari dress is sixty four years old and part of the collection at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Another one in the list is a medium blue and gold sari dress from 1950s. This sari dress was found atTheVintageStudio that sells vintage clothes and garments made from vintage supplies. I love the detailed Jari work on the dress. The neckline and waistband on the dress looks so modern.

Nothing is better than Black and Gold (Or Black and Silver) party dress, and this off shoulder sari dress tops all of them. Look at the fine detailing of silver jari weaves over Black background on the upper part of this dress. I guess this is the pallu of the sari that is used to make the upper part of the dress. Lower part is obviously made of the other portion from the sari fabric.